St Urban’s Catholic Primary School Phonics Parent Evening Wednesday 3 rd December 2014

Everything starts with reading! NOTE: To change images on this slide, select a picture and delete it. Then click the Insert Picture icon in the placeholder to insert your own image.

Reading at home Please read with your child as much as possible and encourage them to: Sound out Re-read to check it makes sense. Use pictures for clues. Ask questions about the book. And most importantly ENJOY READING! Talk to them! Model and expect good listening. Encourage the understanding and use of new vocabulary. Sing songs, rhymes and read poems, enjoying the rhyme and rhythm of words.

Reading at school Oxford Reading Tree Scheme (Biff, Chip, Kipper and Floppy) -  Adults listen to children read on a bi-weekly basis Guided reading sessions -  One 20 minute session per week Access to a classroom library

Why teach phonics? The ability to read and write well is a vital skill for all children, paving the way for an enjoyable and successful school experience. Phonics helps children to develop good reading and spelling skills. e.g. cat can be sounded out for reading and spelling We use ‘Jolly Phonics’ and ‘Letters and Sounds’ as a basis for phonics teaching.

Phonics consists of… Identifying sounds in spoken words. Recognising the common spellings of each sound (phoneme). Blending sounds into words for reading. Segmenting words into sounds (phonemes) for spelling. Understanding grapheme – phoneme correspondences. E.g. Letter C is the sound /c/. It is expected that children should be working at phase two or three in Reception.

Phases of Learning The aim of phase 2 phonics is to recognise letters and their sounds and use them when they are reading and writing simple words e.g. pan, sit, mum, leg The aim of phase 3 phonics is to recognise digraphs (this is when 2 letters make one sound) and use them when they are reading and writing more complex words e.g. toad, feet, boat, farm Children are expected to read and spell these words in simple sentences.

Jolly Phonics Enjoyable and motivating for the children. It’s a thorough foundation for reading and writing. Phonics lessons are fun and multisensory. Children learn how to use the letter sounds to read and write words.

Learning letter sounds In Jolly Phonics the 44 main sounds of English are taught, not just the alphabet. The sounds are in seven groups. Some sounds are written with two letters, such as ee and or. These are called digraphs. Each sound has an action and rhyme which helps children remember the letter(s) that it represents.

Phonics songs

Letter sounds As taught using Jolly Phonics

Phonics lessons Lessons are daily for minutes. We revise previously taught sounds and teach new sounds each week as well as high frequency or common words. Children are given lots of opportunities to practise their sounds in both reading and writing in both indoor and outdoor play. We use real objects to support learning as well as flashcards with pictures to help children remember. We teach the letter sounds first and then letter names as sounds help children to become better early readers and writers. We also teach tricky words – Words that cannot be segmented and need to read as a whole word such as was.

Segmenting Words ‘ Chopping Up’ the word to spell it out. Identifying the individual sounds in a spoken word and writing down letters for each sound (phoneme) to form the words. h-i-m ch-i-p d-u-ck f-o-x

Blending Words Saying sounds (phonemes) to build words for reading - c-a-t = cat. Merging them into the correct order to pronounce the word. sathitdog tappannip

Challenge Time! Blend and segment these words: drepblomgris Nonsense words games help build on blending and segmenting skills.

High Frequency Words Common words such as the, mum, like, look, see need to be learned by heart. Sounding out is a way of working out unfamiliar words such as Gran, fish. Tips for at home Use flashcards and get your child to practise reading them. Getting your child to write the word will also help them to remember. Building words with magnetic letters.

Letter formation Please ensure you use lower case letters unless it is for the capital letter of a person’s name. Letters need to be correctly formed (left to right top to bottom) Please refer to guide sheet in your pack. Use a variety of media e.g. whiteboard pens, felt pens, crayons, chalk, pencils, paint brushes. Start with the letters in your child’s name. Ensure that writing practice is fun and purposeful!

How can I help? Sing an alphabet song together Play ‘I spy’ Praise your child for blending and segmenting sounds Look at high frequency and tricky words Match words to picture games Use resources from websites such as and

How can I help? Utilise phonics websites and videos – Phonics play CBeebies – Alphablocks Geraldine the Giraffe

NOTE: To change images on this slide, select a picture and delete it. Then click the Insert Picture icon in the placeholder to insert your own image.

Thank you for listening Any questions?